Prince and the fox
by inexchangeforyoursoul
Summary: one nerd is pining and the other eventually notices. setting is current situation where they presumably both work under kaidou. that's about it.


It strikes him as odd.

Not as if Apoo wasn't a phenomenon in the first place- but he seemed to go out of his way to spend time around Hawkins, which was nothing bar suspicious to him.

They've been stuck working together for some time now, so he's already well aware of the kind of person the captain is, and can read him with ease without consulting the cards. Loud. Vibrant. A daredevil. And beneath that layer: calculating, shrewd, and sly. With the exception of those that gather under his flag, he is not one to build lasting relations- he was eager enough to realign himself after Kid's defeat, rushing towards the most favorable outcome in the situation. Allegiances of his come and go whenever the right circumstances present themselves, and as such...

It really seems quite out of the ordinary that ever since the very beginning, Apoo would regularly appear in some waking hour of the day to keep him company.

Even if the target of attention weren't on his toes under Kaidou, he'd be wary of this behavior. First conclusion he had was that his current partner in crime was planning something against -or at least involving- him. Logical enough. Then again, its obviousness strikes him as unwise from a person he already expects much more from.

The cards also did not support this theory... it might just have been that the posed questions did not meet the actual specifics of his intent. Anyhow, after a dozen unsuccessful readings Hawkins decided to keep a closer look on what the captain might be up to instead. Which was not that hard of a task- his approach was always easy to expect with all the noise it's accompanied by. Thus, he's began watching. Observing. While humoring the other's antics- such as right now.

"So, all in all... we pulled a real ass-card with that alliance of ours, didn't we." Apoo sighs in an exasperated manner after a seemingly never-ending wave of complaints. Meanwhile, his current one-man audience calculates on about various issues concerning their task for the next day.

This is the part where the musician stops talking and asks something in relation to a previous topic... then, after squeezing out a few curt replies and the awkwardness becoming unbearable, stands up and goes to do his thing.

Hawkins knows the routine. Forty minutes have passed since the longarm entered, and while another visit is a possibility on Apoo's early days, he never stays for more than an hour.

"Indeed," comes the meager answer, which is more of an independent conclusion than part of the conversation hardly taking place. The results he sees in the readings are not reassuring, after all. Truly, they never are- but lately the outlooks have been looking bleaker than ever; a faint, displeased grimace appears on his face as he gets the final result of 18% and he picks up the cards to shuffle them once more.

Staring at him intently for a bit, Apoo speaks up again: "You know... while I manage and Kid's a total fuckup and an ass for dragging Killer down the hole with himself... I do feel bad for you."

The mage stops in his tracks, and for the first time that day, locks eyes with his colleague. Before he could say anything, the other continues.

"I mean... right off the bat you wanted to leave, because we were just that much of a nuisance, so while Killer was keeping our shit together -and did a damn good job of it if I say so-..." He was trailing off, staring to the side. "I should've encouraged your decision while there was plenty of time to jump ships. Both pissbaby and me are cramping your style and gettin' on your nerves anyway."

"..." The blonde captain was still debating on how to react for a couple of seconds. "... is that the reason why you keep following me around?" he posed the question bluntly, being at a loss for better words.

The reaction and level of interest being uncharacteristic also had Apoo facing a conundrum as to what to say. At least that was what was happening for a moment- then...

"Y-eah, I guess that's one way to put it," came the splutter with face turned away. "Like, you never seemed especially hyped about the current situation and I feel kinda responsible a little, so... I check in to... see how you are doing?" he trailed off finally with an awkward hand gesture, forcing himself to at least face the other again.

Hawkins was staring at him incredulously with a squint- this the longarm couldn't have noticed as he was looking to the side despite his best efforts. He... was a terrible liar when his life did not depend on it. The next stretch of silence was grating away at him quick, too.

"Anyway," the captain sprung up from his seat finally, "I gotta go check on how my fellas are faring. See ya!" he saluted and made his wackiest exit up to date.

Being left alone with his thoughts, Hawkins leans back on his chair, evaluating the convo. That was... certainly something. He hit close to home with that question, didn't he.

Pondering away the options, his attention gets drawn to a particular line of thought. Could that be the case...? Seems rather unlikely... then again, it also should explain quite a few things. Thinking about it, he also stopped picking up people somewhere down the line...

Setting up his cards again, he inquires about the possibility of something that never would have crossed his mind otherwise.

A concise, silent "Oh." is all he can muster the minute after lifting the last one. With the 2% margin of error, that can be very well one hundred.

The weight of his worries slowly disappearing from his shoulders, he rolls his eyes; and, after a brief moment, cracks a faint smile.

Well, well, well. So that's what it's about. Quite flattering- and even charming, if he wants to be honest. The dunce has a crush.

Maybe he should consider the situation sometime later. But, really... he thought him to be the more forward type of guy.


End file.
